Emily Zink, Amanda Oyakawa, Alexa Krivoniak 10/31/11 Version 2.

The High Concept Statement

Newlyweds Gilbert and Charlotte have just inherited a beautiful mansion from their deceased matron, who once ran the orphanage in which they grew up together. Unbeknownst to them, their honeymoon is about to be cut short by lingering spirits that trap them inside the mansion, envious of their newfound happiness. The player alternately takes control of husband and wife to effectively solve puzzles or survive deadly traps, in order to free the specters from their worldly ties and escape the mansion.

The Players Experience

The players main goal throughout the game is to help the friendly ghosts scattered throughout the mansion by solving puzzles, to receive rewards like keys that unlock new areas or items that are useful when confronting possessed ghosts. With the ability to switch between Gilbert and Charlotte at any given time, the player uses skills or items specific to each character to overcome obstacles. But these experiences barely scratch the surface of what the game has to offer. Rather than imagining herself as a certain character, the player should feel as though she is an outside observer guiding Gilbert and Charlotte to their freedom. Although the player is directly controlling the two main characters, the games narrative unfolds in front of her with rare moments of player-driven elements, like deciding which path to explore next or the best way to defeat a boss. These dramatic narrative elements cause the player to empathize with the characters feelings, and instill a very real desire to help them even though the characters themselves are not real. Neglect bridges the gap between fantasy and reality with the relatable emotions that the characters exhibit.

Charlotte...
is strong-willed, courageous, and passionate. She will stop at nothing to finally get the relaxing honeymoon with her new husband, Gil, that she deserves.

The Game World

The setting is New England, US during the Victorian era (1850s). The extent of the game world is set within the mansions walls; the characters leave once the mission is complete. Since the world exists in one building, it is mostly linear with some parallel elements (i.e. players can explore the hallways on a floor in any order as long as they have a key). There are 3 floors to the mansion: a ground floor, a 2nd floor, and a basement. On each floor there are two wings (besides the basement), east and west, each filled with a dozen or so rooms to explore, and one central room that houses a boss: a possessed ghost. By using the equipment gained on that floor to free the ghost, the player then moves on to the next. Boundaries such as locked doors Gilbert...
is stubborn and clever. The only thing sharper than his wit is his unending loyalty to his bride, Lotti.

require the player to help the friendly ghosts around them in order to receive a key or the item she needs to pass. Another important element regarding the level design is the players ability to travel to the past through mirror portals. Some of the ghosts requests require you to return to the time when they were alive to retrieve an object or information. This can be done by passing through the portals to enter an earlier version of the mansion. The games progression is split up into chapters rather than disparate levels, since the player can freely travel back to any room once it has been found and unlocked.

There are many interactive objects that can be affected by the players input, like talking to other ghosts or people, pulling switches, pushing objects, etc. Regarding the aesthetics, the game has an art style based off of the prominent movement of the time: Romanticism. This is a highly expressive style that entails dramatic lighting techniques and vivid color contrast. The emphasized features, such as the main characters, are generally shown in higher color and contrast as opposed to the background which is much darker or duller. The Mansion...
rests on the top of a hill in the country. It houses hundreds of years of historyand spirits.

The Genre
Neglect is a hybrid of two genres: puzzle and action-adventure. The puzzle genre is
satisfied by engaging the player with a puzzle or two every time she agrees to help a friendly ghost. Not only then, but even between rooms or in hallways there may be unexpected barriers that can only be lifted by solving a puzzle. Boss fights with possessed ghosts are also puzzles in themselves, since you must exorcise each one in a different way according to its weaknesses without harming it. The action-adventure genre can be seen in the explorative and unexpected elements throughout the mansion. Its easy for the player to lose herself in all the possible areas to explore, but not every path is safe. The action side of action-adventure can be found in randomly placed traps, such as a ghost possessing objects and throwing them at the character or the floor suddenly giving way. In a case like this, the game switches to an active cut-scene where the player must enter the correct button combo with the correct timing during the cut-scene in order to survive.

Ghosts...
can be previous servants or tenants. They have a glow, are transparent, and emit a dark smoke when they move.

The Platform
The PC is an ideal choice for the games platform, mainly because of the need for an easily movable cursor on-screen at all times. The mouse cursor, which takes the form of the currently controlled characters hand, is used to interact with people or objects in the environment (left-click) or to switch between Gilbert and Charlotte (right-click). In addition, the computers keyboard is useful for its multitude of buttons spaced a comfortable distance apart. The WASD keys are used for movement, and the E key to call the couples dog, Achilles, for a hint. For quick use, the player can assign items to the hotkey numbers 1-9. It is also important to note the 3D, side-view of the game, which is presented better on the close screen a PC provides due to the angles many layers of detail.

Achilles the Greyhound

is a faithful companion who responds to every whistle. He gives a hint by pointing his nose towards the next piece of the puzzle.

The Target Audience

Although Neglect has dark themes and deep morals, it also has a lighthearted look and feel with little violence. But the puzzles and traps are of a higher degree of difficulty, and it is not always obvious where to go or what should be done next. For these reasons, the game targets a teen audience, primarily females from ages 13 to 18. The layers of mystery intertwined in the plots and sub-plots enhance the players curiosity and urge to explore further. Its full of twists and surprises in the story as well as the gameplay to always keep the player on their toes. Also, the puzzles and items you encounter are like mini-games or little toys themselves. All in all, the heart of the game lies within the lure of problem-solving combined with elements of play.

The Flow
There are several aspects to this game that make it unique from others. For instance, the gameplay is still interesting without the use of fighting or direct violence. Rather than using a weapon to fight the bosses at the end of each floor, the player uses the items she has acquired along with teamwork between the characters to alter the environment around the enemy to reach the same end. Along the same lines, the game is not heavily driven by chance; it gives the player easy access to solving fun yet progressively challenging puzzles and just enjoying the story. And theres not just one story, but numerous stories within the main story, since many of the ghosts assigned tasks involve occurrences in their previous lives (i.e. one might be to find out who murdered them, so the player has to enter the past and eavesdrop on the suspects). Another appealing aspect is the constant interaction between the two protagonists in which they play off each other to let the player know what each character is thinking. One final unique trait in Neglect is the diverse combination of themes it presents, a few being: whether life or life after death is better, youre never alone, and a greater appreciation for life in general. With these and many other rarely used game traits, the player will undoubtedly experience the perfect balance between anxiety and boredom that is the flow zone.

Additional Concept Art

Reference
Pictures
The White House Blueprints
Each floor of the mansion in Neglect will have a similar layout.

Examples of

Victorian Mansion Interiors

Art Style: Romanticism

The Nightmare
John Henry Fuseli

Expressive poses

Episode of the September Days 1830 (on the Grand Place of Brussels)
Gustave Wappers
Dark Shadows, blue tint

The Voyage of Life Childhood

Thomas Cole
High contrast, vivid colors